Analysis of the electrical responses of antennal thermo- and hygroreceptors of Antheraea (Saturniidae, Lepidoptera) to thermal, mechanical, and electrical stimuli

Summary

Antennal styloconic thermo-hygro sensilla of Antheraea were studied with DC-coupled transepithelial recordings. — The transepithelial voltage changed by about 2 mV · °C⁻¹. The spike frequency of the cold cell reached 300 Hz at the onset of negative temperature steps, but only 30 Hz at static temperatures (as with metal electrodes). The cold cell spikes showed a brief afterhyperpolarization that increased with temperature. The spikes of the cold- and warm-stimulated cells facilitated each other at low temperature. Mechanical stimuli (push against the sensillum, hydrostatic pressure of < ± 50 kPa, ultrasonic vibrations ≈ 120 kHz) modified the responses of the cold- and the warm-stimulated cells. Latency of cold cell responses to ultrasonic stimulation was occasionally less than 3 ms. — The impulse frequencies of the warm and the cold cells depend on the temperature and the magnitude of temperature change. When the firing rate is high enough by either or both of these parameters, it can be forced still higher by application of clamp current (outside positive). The higher the firing rate prior to clamping, the greater the effect of the current. — By analogy with sensilla for other modalities, this relationship between frequency and clamp current strongly suggests that stimulus-dependent changes in the conductance of dendritic membranes control the excitation of the warm and cold cells.